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tv   News  Al Jazeera  February 5, 2016 9:00am-9:31am EST

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have a great weekend. t weekend. tens of thousands of syrian flee the aleppo countryside where government forces breaking through rebel defenses. hello, this is the word news from al jazeera from doha. fearful burundian refugees shelter in camps speak of kill i guess and abductions allegedly by government militia. we have a really significant victory that has brought a smile to my face. jewel january assange said he has been vindicated by a u.n.
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panel saying he should walk three. california has been suffering a punishing drought. will enniño solve california's water problems? in syria, war is raging in the northern province of aleppo. tens of thousands heading toward turkey. diplomatic talks for ending the crisis is on hold. turkey is ready to send in ground troops. syrian government forces backed by russian air raids stepped up their offensive in the east of aleppo. opposition fighters have appealed for help as their main supply route to turkey is under pressure. the syrian observatory for human rights estimates as many as 40,000 civilians are making that you are way towards the turkish border. can we expect to see refugees
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crossling at turkish border, zeina? >> jane, no, for the time being, the border gate behind me is closed. there are syrians who have fled the conflict and fled the ground offensive that is underway in the northern countryside of aleppo. officially, turkey has an open door policy, but at the same time, the government has imposed strict restrictions, as well as, you know, because of the burden it is carrying, it is already holding 2.5 million refugees, so we do not expect them to cross into turkey. but what is happening i go that turkish n.g.o.'s crossed the border and are providing shelter. thousands of people are on the move, leaving towns and villages in the countryside.
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so far, we have no information on whether or not the people inside aleppo city, that is where the opposition controls the eastern portion of the city. they haven't started to flee en masse but if they do, we will have an even worsening humanitarian crisis. >> what do you know of the fighting underway in aleppo, the offensive there? >> that offensive is on going, but the government and their allies are trying to push out from the two government controlled towns but face fierce resistance on the ground. the opposition is still fighting. they haven't surrendered, even though they were not able to stop the assault. the airstrikes are continuing, intense bombardment on the ground. what the government wants to do is reach the northeastern entrances which aleppo city in order to encircle aleppo,
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syria's second largest city and lay siege to that area. so far, they have not been able to do that. also, at the same time while the opposition is still fighting back, they are calling on other factions and really all men to come and join the fight. they are calling this a fight for survival, really, because the northern areas of syria are very important for the opposition, because they are located on the turkish border and it has been their lifeline for years now. they're even calling this the mother of all battles, because whoever wins, really wins syria's largest city and syria's north. senior russian politicians criticize saudi arabia's statement that it is ready to send soldiers into syria to fight isil. it is said any such intervention without the consent of the syrian government would be illegal. rory challands is live for us in moscow. talk us through the response and what the fear is about the saudi
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arabia offer. >> well, let's ever a little recap, because what we know at the moment is that the rebels in syria are currently coming under immense amounts of pressure from syrian government offensive aided, of course by massive russian air power. the rebels have walked away from talks in geneva in disgust. at the same time, russia is now paying increasing attention to reports in the last few days that first the turkish and now the saudis might be about to enter the war with a ground incursion. it looks, really, as if the gauntlet is being thrown down to russia, pressure put on russia by the u.s. and its partners. in deed, the u.s. has said that it would welcome saudi
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participation in the conflict. what this looks like is essential lib the u.s. and partners trying to play russia at its own game, because what they would say, if they did send in troops from turkey and saudi arabia is that they will go to extensively fight isil, but perhaps the more pressing reason would be to support their favorite sides in the civil war. russia at the moment doesn't quite know what to make of this. yes, we've heard from the senator saying that it would be illegal fit happens, but the kremlin is saying at the moment only that it's monitoring the situation and it doesn't have anything specific to say. i think we can guess that in a few days' time when john kerry and sergey lavrov, the russian foreign minister meet to talk about syria in munich, kerry will probably be asking lavrov federal wants russia to be going down this route. >> thank you for that, rory challands. more than 200,000 people
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have fled burundi since the african count ribs slipped into a violent political crisis. half of those who left are sheltering in tanzania, saying that the burundi government is sending militia into the camps at a hunt down opponents. we have this report. >> at a camp in tanzania, home to more than 40,000 refugees, they fled ongoing violence in burundi. when we visited, we were only allowed to interview refugees who had been screened by officials from the u.n. refugee agency. the u.n. said it was for refugees' protection. several others wanted to speak to us about security in the camp but were not allowed. we contacted them by phone after we left. >> the camp is currently not safe. we live in fear of burundian government militia, who are in the camp. >> we've spoken to many refugees by telephone, who say similar
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things. many of them name particular individuals who they say are agents sent by the burundian government to the camps to track members of the opposition. they say those agents have attempted abductions and killings and say these incidents have been reported to camp officials, that many of the agents are still at large. several more refugees said a group of dozens had left the camp in november, believing they were joining an armed rebel group in burundi, later learning it was a trap set by government you be militia. most in that group were killed. one man was among them and gave a detailed account and says he escaped. >> some of our group were tied up, we were loaded on a truck an driven and driven away. my friend and i jumped off and ran to the border where there were more government militia. they killed my friend but i escaped over the border. >> the government says the
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allegations are baseless. the u.n. said any of the refugees should have been allowed to speak to us and that senior u.n. officials were not aware of these particular cases. >> if we had solid evidence, of course, it would be our duty to try to do something bit, but through the government, we are not responsible for actually security and safety. >> screening the constant flow of new arrivals is not easy in the camp. police search baggage for weapons. the tanzanian government said it was not aware of the allegations but is doing all it can to make the camps secure. >> the government has been very strict. in fact, whenever we have supported any kinds of -- spotted any kind of activities of his recruitment, we have actually taken serious measures. only last week, some refugees were actually apprehende and taken before the court and charged. >> meanwhile, back in tanzania,
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both the u.n. and the government say part of the problem is that they're desperately short of funding to deal with the refugees. the refugees say they just want a place to be safe. malcolm webb, al jazeera, tanzania. >> the burundi foreign minister denied the allegations made by the refugees speaking to al jazeera earlier. >> i don't believe that there are militias operating in the camps in tanzania as we have heard from u.n. authorities and i'm sure that -- was ail to reach out to the authorities in tanzania. if there should be some activities of that nature, it should be the responsibility of the authorities in tanzania to address those facts. i only heard from, you know, of
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those allegations from you, never heard anything of that nature before. in any case, anything that happens or takes place beyond the borders of burundi is not the responsible of the government of burundi. a u.n. panel ruled in julian assange's favor, saying he has been arbitrarily detained. he appeared by video link from inside the ecuadorian embassy. he's been there three years. he praised the finding of the u.n. group calling the ruling a vindication. he says positions taken by that the british and swedish authorities have now been shown to be invalid. >> put simply, those arguments lost. there is no appeal. the time for appeal is over. no appeal was lodged. it is now the task of the states of sweden and the united kingdom as a whole to implement the
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verdict. >> barnaby phillips has more from outside the ecuadorian embassy in london. >> julian assange has won a clearly moral victory and he says a legal one, too. he said it is incumbent to respect the findings of the united nations panel and he should be allowed to walk free. the british police and the british government and the swede inbound government all see things rather differently. the british and swedish governments rejected the findings of the panel. the british foreign secretary said it was a ridiculous conclusion. the police say that if assange leaves, he will be arrested straight away if he appears on the streets of london. an awful lot of heat and he is back in the news, be but how much has actually changed, that is far from clear. behind the scenes, the british, swedish and ecuadorian governments will feel under diplomatic pressure to reach
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solution to this long running and somewhat farcical case. then there were two, u.s. democratic rivals tangle in their first one-on-one debate. why affordable and economical are the watch words as one of the world's biggest auto shows.
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>> "inside story" takes you beyond the headlines, beyond the quick cuts, beyond the soundbites. we're giving you a deeper dive into the stories that are making our world what it is. hello again, tens of thousand was syrians are fleeing to turkey for safety. these aerial pictures show people trying to make their way across land to the border with
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turkey. fighting intensified in aleppo following a government offensive backed by russian airstrikes. burundian refugees in tanzania said the burundi government are hunting down people they believe to be activists in refugee camps. the government denies the allegations. the founder of wikileaks, julian assange says he feels vindicated by a u.n. panel saying he's been held in arbitrary detention in the ecuadorian embassy for three years, fearing extradition to sweden. the u.n. peacekeeping mission in central african republic said it has identified seven new cases of alleged sexual abuse by its troops. human rights watch said the victims including women and
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girls were gang raped. u.n. peacekeepers were sent to restore order in 2013 after an upsurge in intercommunal violence. the latest claims come on top of 20 allegations last year of sexual abuse by u.n. peacekeepers. >> due to the gravity of these allegations and given the information collected through the initial fact finding, the united nations decided to take immediate measures including the repatriation of the 120 soldiers from the republic of congo deployed from the 17 of september to the 14 of december, 2015. this repatriation will occur after investigation is carried out in that the soldiers will be confined to barracks in the meantime. three are trapped underground after gold mine collapsed in south africa. 87 workers have been brought to the surface following the cave in at the mine east of johannesburg. turkey's prime minister's promised to invest the equivalent of 8 billion euros in
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the kurdish southeast to help restore security. we reveal what he is calling a government master plan to rebuild the country's mainly kurdish region during a visit to the province. he said negotiations with kurdish separatists would only be possible when they laid down arms. fighting between turkish forces and the p.k.k. flared up in july shatterle a fragile ceasefire that began in 2012. >> this was a speech to inspire those culturally awaken kurds in turkey, to separate them from p.k.k. right now, i think ankara is
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trying to separated local kurds from p.k.k. i think this is the strategy confusion ankara has been trying to take up. democratic presidential hopefuls hillary clinton and bernie sanders squared off in the most contentious debate so far. there were heated debates on the issue of campaign funding. we have more from new hampshire. >> outside the democratic debate hall in durham, not a hillary clinton sign in sight. new hampshire is bernie sanders' territory. among young voters here, he enjoys more than 85% support
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especially with issues of income inequality. >> the rich of getting richer. i would like to see a candidate who supports radical changes in the economic structure to create more equality and justice. >> i don't trust hillary. i think she's been very flippy floppy on a lot of issues. he's been very consistent. >> the issue of reforming america's economic structure is where the two democratic presidential hopefuls argue most. sanders criticized clinton for receiving $675,000 for making paid speeches to at least one investment bank on wall street, suggesting her corporate funded political campaign makes her ill suited for the kind of reform he's promising. >> one of the things we should do is not only talk the talk, but walk the walk. i am very proud to be the only candidate up here who does not have a super pac, who is not raising huge sums of money from wall street or special
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interests. >> there is this attack that he is putting fort, which really comes down to, you know, anybody who ever took donations or speaking fees from any interest group has to be bought, and i just absolutely reject that, senator. >> but when pushed for transparency to reveal whether promises had been made to corporate america, clinton dodged the issue. >> are you willing to release the transcripts of all your paid speeches. >> i will look into it. i don't know the status but will look into it. >> he said clinton's defiance may not be enough. >> she has to prove she is as progressive as bernie sanders and he has got to lot of arguments to say no, you're not. one most effective is her taking money from major corporations and financial institutions when many in the democratic party especially the most progressive leftwing of the democratic party
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is really angry about that. >> clinton has little time to change the minds of new hampshire voters. its primary is days away and clinton trails her opponent in some polls by as much as 30 points. al jazeera, durham, new hampshire. hundreds of chileans have taken to the streets angry over recent signs of the transpacific partnership. the deal involving 12 pacific nations aims to slash tariffs and trade between themselves, a deal affecting 40% of the global economy. they say it will cost jobs and hurt the sovereignty. members still have two years to approve the deal before it becomes legally binding. >> demonstrators protested the deal. dozens of people gathered outside the headquarters of a major drug research facility. protestors say the t.p.p. will make it difficult for patients to get access to life saving
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medication. >> the global weather phenomenon known as el niño will bring rain and snow to some parts of the globe that are warm and dry, bringing drought to other regions that are normally wet. what countries will be the winners and losers? we take a look at the impact on the west coast of the u.s. rob reynolds reports from california. >> the last few years have been tough for california farmer jordan parsons. >> since 2011, we've had complete crop failures the last four years in a row. in terms of the irrigated stuff, we've seen acreage drop because our wells can't hold up. >> for the first time in a long time, his fields are green, thanks to the el niño global weather system that's bringing water to california. scientists measuring the snow pack in the sierra nevada mountains say it's well above
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average this time of year. technicians from the institution are oceanography take readings of temperatures. while rain and snow increased, el niño won't wipe out the effects of years of drought, scientists say. >> it's quite unlikely and doesn't look like it's shaping up so far. even if we had a normal strong el niño, we would be unlikely to erase our ways out of so many years of drought we've had at this point. >> nobody knows how strong the el niño will be. the 38 million california are told to keep conserving water. >> we can't say the drought is over yet. we're still in the rainy season. we don't know how much we will end up with, so basically the message has been people have really stepped u up to the plate and tried to conserve and we want them to continue. >> farmers complain about water set aside for the environment
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and at risk species, including commercially valuable salmon. >> when we favor a fish over farmers in the valley, as a farmer, it's hard to be satisfied. >> officials say they are following the law. >> the law requires that the water be provided for them. >> more rain would be good news for california, but there's bad news, as well. el niño downpours could cause flash floods and mudslides, and already some areas see severe coastal erosion. >> heavy january storms swamped parts of southern california and in pacifica south of san francisco, high tides and battering waves have left these residential buildings teetering on the edge. >> all the storms that started hitting, the places literally falling off the cliff. >> residents were ordered to lead before el niño tumbles their homes into the sea. civil defense authorities in
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southern japan are on alert after a volcano erupted close to a nuclear power plant. a no go zone has been expanded. the volcano is 50 kilometers from the nuclear facility. pakistan international airlines suspended all foreign and domestic flights following strikes by employees who are protesting against government plans to privatize the company. we have more from islamabad. >> employees of pakistan international airlines are continuing to protest across the country. that has brought all flights domestic, as well as international to a grinding halt, as far as this airline is concerned. now the people here are protesting against the moves by the government to privatize this airline. the government has already included over $3 billion and is costing another $300 million annually to sustain this
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particular airline. however, after the killing of three of their colleagues in karachi earlier in the week, the problem has now become conflicts. hundreds of passengers are stuck overseas. now the government is trying to charter a foreign airlines to bring their passengers back. south koreas foreign minister has been meeting ambassadors in sorel because of growing concerns about a planned rocket launch by north korea. the meeting with ambassadors from the u.s., japan, e.u. and australia comes after north korea said it plans to launch a satellite. this comes after north korea's fourth nuclear test in january. part of an anti corruption drive by president xi, the govern is accused of disloyalty to the ruling communist party. we have this report from
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beijing. >> the previous governor of the province, one of the most important in china, where the former power are a mount leader hailed from. he's been accused of violating party discipline. that is an accusation you hear over and over again in today's china. he's also been accused of failing to rectify his wrong doings. now, this, of course, follows events on thursday, when the man who was the deputy governor of another important province was also removed from his post, accused of violating party discipline. i think it is connected to president xi's crackdown on political dissent, because he was a close associate of the former security czar here in china who was jailed for corruption just last year issues the 13th edition of under i can't's flagship auto show
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opened doors in the outskirts of india's capital. once dominated by no frills vehicles, the indian car market is undergoing a shift. we have this report. >> the crowds are out outside india's capitol for the auto show. in india, it's a growing car market especially among the middle class where price is paramount. some vehicles sell for less than $5,000. india's capital is trying to get a control over emissions to bring down pollution and began winding down the sales of niece that vehicles. the rest of the country is not and adding low emission technology or more hype before i had models would drive up prices and bring down sales. taxes double the cost of imported vehicles, so carmakers not keen to make their products more expensive. here, many vehicles are s.u.v.
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or s.u.v. style, not the most environmentally friendly. india is the fifth largest car market in the world and growing, meaning at present, the focus will be on that growth and not what's best for the environment. aljazeera.com, you should check it out. >> the unemployment rate hits an low. a u.n. paneling sides with the wikileaks founder, but britain says he is still wanted for arrest. and hillary clinton and bernie sanders trade accusations days before the primary.